Robert Burns once wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley,” or to render it in contemporary English, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” We live in a chaotic world, in which our best hopes and dreams so often are laid out into elaborate plans that soon disintegrate into dust. Church and governmental institutions grow increasingly dysfunctional.

The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, known as “Mother Emanuel”, was founded in 1816 in Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest continuous black congregations in the United States. The history of Mother Emanuel is one of perseverance in the face of adversity and racial hostility. An earthquake demolished the building in 1886. Tragedy struck again on the evening of June 17, 2015, a young white man, Dylann Roof, walked into the church and sat down to join the weekly Wednesday Bible study/prayer group. Though a stranger, he was welcomed. After an hour with the group, he shot and killed nine people.